Education that is.  There is ALWAYS talk of how bad education is and there are ALWAYS politicians talking about ways to improve it–highly qualified teachers (this means degrees and certification only–no measures of effectiveness), testing every year, mandating that all students (regardless of English proficiency or IEP status) will meet or exceed expectations.  Those of you tired of Education talk please stop reading now.   Because I am just getting started here.  Education reform is my cause.  It is why I am working my ass off getting my PhD while raising two kids and trying to be a wife.  Teacher training is my cause because I believe and know that the single most important factor in student success is teacher effectiveness.  Am I blaming teachers?  No.  I was/am a teacher.  Is it our fault?  No it is the systems fault.  The entire system has failed everyone.  The system has broken many of us and it drives away 50% of us in the first five years.  We need to look at the system–we are all part of the system.

Diane Ravitch has a new book out–The Death and Life of the Great American School System:  How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education. You can check it out here or read a review of it here or here.  Those of you in Education have possibly heard of her.  She is a renowned Education Historian and has been involved in education through Presidential administrations.  You can find our more about her by reading her CV.  She was a proponent of NCLB before it was called NCLB.  She now loudly states her realization that is is/was a colossal failure.  In the last 12 years reading scores have not budged according to NAEP–which is the national testing that is given every 2 years to random students–this is seen as the TEST when comparing American students to others as it is a test that cannot be prepped for or taught to as no one knows what will be on it or who will be taking it.

I agree very much with her. Our school system has become one that teaches to a test.  Test companies are creating curriculum aligned with individual state standards and state tests.  The curriculum are canned or boxed and a one size fits all–Education as become all about outcomes/results but not about the students.  We have gone from teacher-centered classrooms to test-centered classrooms.  Where are the students?  How can they possibly be engaged in an education that is all about teaching them facts, etc. for a test.  How can teachers be passionate about their jobs when they are expected to produce test scores as opposed to students who can think for themselves.

She writes:

It solves no problems to exclude parents and the public from important decisions about education policy or to disregard the educators who work with students daily. Public education is a vital institution in our democratic society, and its governance must be democratic, open to public discussion and public participation.

Schools do not exist in isolation. They are part of the larger society. Schooling requires the active participation of many, including students, families, public officials, local organizations, and the larger community.

I couldn’t agree more.  We have an education system that is run from the top down and no one else has a voice–not the teacher, not the parents, not the community, not the students.  Kelly over at Mocha Momma wrote about parental involvement and this is key.  The education system doesn’t allow for parental involvement.  it doesn’t clearly communicate the values of the school nor does it reflect the values of a community or society at large.  The top down running of schools and the arbitrary use of test scores that are disconnected from students’ lives have helped crumble the school system.

This is something that private schools do (those that are good–don’t get me wrong there are bad private schools).  But private schools are not slaves to the test and test scores.  Parents and the community are an integral to the functioning and the decision making process.

Now to the crux–how can we fix it? Stop all the excess testing–we certainly need some measure of where students are and if they have moved.  Stop punishing teachers for test scores on tests that don’t measure what students have learned but what they can do in 45 minutes on one given day.  Don’t threaten to fire teachers and close schools.  Vow to reform schools and provide teachers with training and tools to help them be more effective. Ensure that educators are running schools and that educators (those who have risen up through the ranks) are the ones making decisions. Teachers often do the best they can–we need to improve professional development and help districts and buildings create a learning environment not just for the students but also for the teachers.

Take the “for profit” companies out of education.

Don’t tie pay to test scores.  You can tie it to evaluations, performance, professional development activities.  But not to test scores. This pits teachers against teachers and creates an adversarial community.

Obviously, there is much more to the problem than I can write about here.  But it is something that is so important to me and pervades everything I do in my life.

to be continued…